Party For Two
by Charlie'sLostVampire
Summary: FitzSimmons High School AU. Leo and Jemma are both the odd ones out, and when they don't get invited to Grant Ward's big end of the year party, they take matters into their own hands.


When it came to socializing with his peers, Leo Fitz was just a tad more than incompetent. Evidently, rambling on about the inner workings of the latest video game consoles wasn't very cool, and it certainly didn't get you invited to the big end of the year party at Mr. I'm-Everyone's-Type graduating senior Grant Ward's house.

Yes, Grant was a year older than he was, but that wasn't the reason that he wasn't invited. Bloody hell, there were _year nines_ that had received invitations. Leo simply wasn't asked to attend because he wasn't popular amongst any crowds other than the hordes of bullies that roamed the halls of New Glasgow Secondary School.

So, while virtually everyone else chatted amicably in the halls about the big party this Saturday night, Leo sat in one of the many science labs, pouring over his compilation of notes on his most recent side-project. He'd stopped handing them in for extra credit long ago, because he figured out that doing so only put a target on his back for more teasing and harassment.

Out of habit he jumped when he heard the door to the classroom open, prepared to defend himself from the larger boys with the chair he was sitting in if necessary. He wasn't in the mood for getting trapped in a locker again this week.

Relaxing when he realized it was only Jemma Simmons, yet another intellectually gifted, and thus teased, student, he offered her a small smile. He must have wandered into the Biology lab without really noticing. He'd just been searching for a classroom no bully in their right mind would wander into at lunch for fear of knowledge.

"Oh! Hello," she said cheerfully, in her typical manner, offering him a smile in return when she realized he was in there. She hadn't expected the room to be occupied; it almost never was during breaks, save the odd day where the teacher, Mr. Parks, lingered at his desk. Although, if there was to be someone in here, Jemma wasn't all too surprised that someone was Leo Fitz. They were friends, in the plainest sense of the word; they treated each other kindly and indulged each other in listening to the other's latest side-project. The only other person in the school who was kind to either of them was Skye Coulson, a year ten girl who moved to Glasgow not long after Grant Ward's family did. Both of their families were involved somehow in the military, and neither Leo nor Jemma had bothered to ask the younger girl what it was her parents did. All they knew from their polite friendships with her was that she was adopted, she didn't know anything about her birth parents, and she really liked to make fun of their British stereotypes. Even if it could sometimes count as teasing, both Brits would take Skye's good natured jokes over the merciless bullying any day.

Jemma herself had moved to Glasgow only a few years ago, but not because she had military parents. Both of her parents were highly praised surgeons, and they had been offered well-paying jobs at a hospital in the region. Thus, Sheffield born-and-raised Jemma Simmons had been uprooted from her childhood home and thrown into the midst of a crowd of rather rowdy Scottish teenagers. Her parents had offered to enroll her in a private school, but Jemma hadn't liked that idea very much. Even if her parents were, to put it lightly, rich, she didn't like making them spend a small fortune just so she could learn things she already knew. Public school would do just fine.

Opting to sit beside Leo now that she was aware he was in the lab, she offered him a wider smile when he mumbled a timid, "Hello," in return. The shyness was very him; despite the fact that they had known each other nearly three years now, he was still very uncertain of where they stood. She contributed it to his skittishness around just about everyone; he was bullied so relentlessly that his confidence had all but shriveled to the size of a raison. Maybe that was why she always felt so compelled to strike up a conversation when she saw him; he didn't have anyone else who would listen to what he had to say. In truth, neither did she. They were both a little short in the friendship department.

"What are you working on?" she asked curiously as she sat her bag on the floor by the stools, placing her Chemistry textbook on the polished black tabletop before walking a few steps to retrieve a microscope.

"Ehm… Just a little something with robotics; it's nothing special," he was hesitant to supply, and she smiled in response, shaking her head at him as she placed the microscope on the table by her textbook, plugging it into the table's built-in outlet.

"Oh, come on now; I'm sure that isn't true. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Looking up from his notes, Leo watched as the small, smartly dressed girl went about prepping her workspace. She was pretty, and he really didn't understand why she wasn't more popular. Yes, Jemma Simmons was smart and gifted, but she was also filthy stinking rich, just like the cliques of bleached blonde popular mean girls. She dressed nicely enough to be one of them; a posh, knee-length black skirt and a white high collared blouse with small black polka dots. Paired with her tights and black flats, she was a simple pair of ridiculously high shoes away from being a smarter version of a clique girl. But Jemma wasn't one of them; she was too nice. She paid attention to him when he spoke, and her smiles weren't mocking ones; they were genuine. Leo liked her, and he wouldn't mind being more than just a person she said hello to when they crossed paths. He wanted to really be friends with her. But he didn't know how to suggest it. He was to shy.

"I… Well, it's just the beginning stages of it… I haven't even worked out any of the materials I'll need to put a prototype together, and it's really not all that interesting without real blueprints made up…"

"It must be interesting, otherwise you wouldn't be working on it," Jemma disagreed as she sat on the stool beside his, offering him a soft smile. "Go on; tell me. I'm curious."

Unable to argue with her logic, Leo took a breath, his ears turning red as he spoke. "It's… it's sort of like a tranquilizer gun, except more effective. My brother was watchin' some American cop show, and he was complainin' about how they don't use real guns to take out the criminals, and critical flaws that I noticed in the design of the guns they used in the program were that the serum doesn't knock the person out straight away, and they're difficult to effectively aim… But I'm stuck. I've been looking into this Bionics course online, but I can't wrap my head all the way around it, so I don't know how to develop a serum to use in the prototype, or how I would incorporate it into the design-"

"I could help," Jemma suggested suddenly, and Leo blinked, his eyes widening.

"Huh?"

"With the serum," she quickly pressed on, "I could develop something for you as a sort of side project for some extra credit in my independent Biochemistry study. The research component alone could be positively fascinating."

"You… wanna work together?" he asked uncertainly, and she smiled brightly at him.

"It would be fun! I've done online compilations with university researchers before, but I've never had any in person partnerships- not that I'm trying to take credit for your idea," she added in quickly. "It's brilliant, Leo, and I don't want any credit; I just thought, maybe, I could help-"

"I'd love to work together," he confirmed quickly, shaking his head at her concerns, "An' don't be ridiculous; if you help with the prototype, you'd get half the credit. Like I said, I'm stuck. I could use a bit of help."

She smiled at that, her eyes twinkling, and both of them jumped when the door suddenly flew open. No one but the two of them would ever be _that_ eager to get into a science lab.

"There you are!"

The two of them watched as Skye rushed into the room, her messenger bag flying out behind her as she all but crashed into Jemma, grabbing onto her forearms tightly. Jemma nearly fell off of her stool from the force, and Leo quickly put out a hand to balance her, which she smiled at him for gratefully before turning back to the eager sixteen year old.

"What's all the fuss?" Jemma asked, and Skye grinned, nodding at Leo. Despite their casual friendship, he clearly wasn't the geek she was looking for.

"Hey, Fitz," she greeted him, turning back to Jemma immediately, lightly shaking the older girl.

"DID YOU GET INVITED TO GRANT WARD'S PARTY?"

Blinking at her loud, enthusiastic question, Jemma shook her head.

"No. But I take it-"

"I DID!" Skye all but shrieked, not giving Jemma time to finish her sentence before she continued on in a loud, excited tone. "_Grant Ward_ invited me to his end of the year party. _Me!_"

Smiling a little, Jemma nodded, partially just glad that Skye had stopped shaking her.

"Congratulations," she said in a kind, teasing tone. It was no secret that Skye had a bit of a crush on the older American boy, and being invited to something as "epic" as his big, end of the year party had to be, in her eyes, a major accomplishment.

"Oh my God, I'm so excited! There's gonna be a pool, and a band, and _food_, and- wait, hold on. Did you say that you _didn't_ get invited?"

Skye clearly seemed aghast, and Jemma quickly did her best to make up a reason. She didn't want her to feel bad for being invited to something she was clearly so excited about.

"He probably heard that I'm having a party of my own," she lied, offering Skye a small smile. "I'd have invited you, but I heard through the grapevine that Grant was going to ask you to come to his, and, well… I didn't want to make you choose."

Rather proud of her fib, giving her lying skills were less than spectacular, Jemma winked, and Skye giggled, clearly buying it. Thank God for that.

"_Oooooh_. I see." Grinning, Skye bounced a little. "So, who's going to your party, then?"

She hadn't thought of that. Thinking fast, Jemma smiled, bumping her arm against Leo's. "Leo's coming."

Leo himself seemed a bit shocked. Wait, what was happening? Jemma hadn't mentioned a party, let alone invited him to one, and he certainly hadn't confirmed his presence there.

"Fitz at a _party?_" Skye teased, grinning, "You'd better make sure he doesn't drain your parents' alcohol supply."

Huffing at the Scottish stereotype, Leo shook his head, opening his mouth to protest and inform her that he'd never tried a drop in his life. But he didn't get the chance, because Skye was speaking again.

"Anyway, I've gotta go. I need to find figure out what kind of dress to wear tomorrow night. Do you think Ward likes purple?"

"I'm sure Ward would love purple," Jemma assured her with a smile, and Skye grinned before finally releasing her arms, bolting toward the door again.

"Have fun at your party! Don't get wasted, Fitz!"

"I'm not gonna get wasted!" he finally shouted back, and they heard her laugh as she raced down the hall, the sound disappearing along with her. Once they were alone again, Leo turned his attention to Jemma, his expression one of utter confusion, "And when the bloody hell did you invite me to a party?"

"Just now," she stated with a small, sheepish smile, and he blushed a bit further than his cheeks, shaking his head.

"My mum doesn't let me go to parties," he lied, turning his attention back to the notebook in front of him, fiddling with his pencil. Jemma saw right through his lie; he'd likely never even been to a party before. He just didn't like the idea of one because it was a place where he would willingly be going to get bullied. She wouldn't like an event like that, either.

"Not even exclusive parties?" she prompted, and he furrowed his brow, peeking up at her with confusion.

"What d'ya mean, 'exclusive'?"

Smiling faintly, she took his pencil and set it down between them, continuing once she had his full attention. "Well, I was thinking… I didn't get invited to Grant Ward's party. You didn't get invited either, did you?"

Shaking his head, Leo continued to listen to her explanation with the slightest amount of interest.

"Well, the two of us never get invited to anything. So why not throw a party of our own and not invite any of them?"

Leaving out the fact that no one would come to a party of theirs even if they were invited, unless it was to laugh at them in their own homes, Leo smiled a little. Really, the idea itself was very nice; although could it really be classified as a party if there were only two people there? Yet, as nice as the thought seemed, he couldn't bring himself to say yes. He'd never been invited to so much as a birthday party before that wasn't for a member of his family, and he wouldn't know what to do if he went to Jemma's makeshift one. He would just sit there awkwardly and maybe ruin the closest thing to a friendship he technically had.

"I… I don't think so, Jemma," he said, shaking his head finally in response to her invitation. "I should really work on the blueprints for my design…"

"Oh, come on, Leo! The two of us ever get to have any fun," she prompted him, lightly nudging his arm.

"Working on blueprints _is_ fun," he disagreed, looking over at her, and she cracked a small smile.

"More fun than having a _Harry Potter_ marathon?" she questioned, and he glanced over at her, still uncertain.

"My mum wouldn't like me going to a party-"

"My dad had a surround sound system with a plasma screen installed a few months back," she added, and he felt his resistance starting to waver. _Harry Potter_ on a plasma screen? With surround sound? The best quality he'd seen the films in outside of the cinema was on his laptop, because Michael always hogged the downstairs television.

"I really shouldn't-"

"We've also got a popcorn machine, with twenty different flavours."

"What time does this party start, exactly?"

… . … . … . … . … . …

His family hadn't been able to believe it when Leo came home from school Friday afternoon and announced that he had a party to attend tomorrow night.

"Not Grant Ward's party?" Michael had asked as they ate dinner, his eyes narrowed. Grant was in Michael's year, and he didn't like the boy. All of the girls fancied him because he was big and strong and special, and before he came along they all adored _him_ for being the school's star rugby player. That being said, he was still going to said party tomorrow night, and the thought of his geeky younger brother being there too miffed him.

"_No_, not Grant Ward's party," Leo scoffed, making a face, "Jemma Simmons' party. She invited me today at lunch."

"_Jemma Simmons?_" Michael asked, and the other three pairs of eyes at the table looked between the two boys curiously at the mention of a girl. There were Leo's parents, Beth and Jacob, who weren't even sure if their son liked girls yet, if at all, and his elder sister, Emma, who was in university and still viewed Leo as her baby brother. The thought of him doing anything with a girl shocked her.

"Who's Jemma Simmons, then?" Emma asked, and Leo blushed. His family _would_ assume that he fancied her, when all he could ever hope for was to be her friend.

"She's just a girl," Leo explained, and Michael scoffed.

"Just a girl? She's the smartest girl in the entire school. Moved here when I was in year ten," Michael added, for his parents' sake, and they both nodded knowingly. They were aware that Leo had become acquainted with a girl from Sheffield when he was in year nine, and that she was nice to him, but they never really spoke of her, mostly because he never did. They hadn't even learned her name up until now.

"She lives in a right posh neighborhood, too," Michael added, furrowing his brow. "Her parents are bloody loaded. I'll bet her house is a stinkin' wonder. How did_ you_ score an invite to a party on that side of town?"

"We're _friends,_" Leo bit out at his older brother, frowning at his disbelief that he, too, can get invited to parties, even if it happened a few years later than it did for him. "We were talkin' in the Biology lab today, and she mentioned that she's havin' a party tomorrow night and asked me to come. I wasn't gonna say no."

With that, he stabbed viciously at his potatoes, and his parents both frowned at Michael before his mother spoke up.

"What time does the party start, sweetheart?" she asked, and he looked up at them, muttering, "Seven."

"An' do ye need a ride?" his father asked, and Leo nodded, his cheeks turning pink again. He was seventeen years old; it was bloody lucky no one else was going to this party, because showing up with his dad driving him would be a humiliation in the least.

After dinner, Leo quickly excused himself and headed upstairs to his room, shutting himself in there for what he hoped would be the rest of the night. He was surprised to find that he had a text from Jemma. They had exchanged numbers years ago, but rarely sent messages back and forth, save a bit of technobabble and biochemistry jargon every now and again. So, a casual message that didn't include words a person of normal intelligence would understand was surprising in the least.

_Simmons (5:52 p.m.): I forgot to mention my parents won't be here tomorrow night. That won't be a problem will it? :/_

His eyes widening a little, Leo swallowed the lump in his throat. He'd heard enough telephone conversations through the thin wall between his room and Michael's to know that a text of "my parents aren't home" from a girl usually lead from one thing to another very quickly. Jemma couldn't have… _that_ in mind, could she?

_Fitz (6:23 p.m.): I don't think so. Do your parents know you invited me?_

_Simmons (6:25 p.m.): Of course, silly. :) As long as we wrap things up by midnight, they're fine with it. _

Wrap things up? Bloody hell, what'd that mean? Half tempted to go and ask Michael's opinion, Leo quickly thought better of himself. He'd never live it down, and his parents might not let him go if they got the wrong idea- the wrong idea which may be the right idea. But Jemma didn't seem like that sort of a girl… Then again, he really didn't know her all that well, did he?

_Fitz (6:30 p.m.): Are we just going to be watching movies? Should I bring anything with me?_

_Simmons (6:31 p.m.): Just yourself. ^-^ _

That didn't clear things up much. Taking a deep breath, deciding he'd just have to risk it, Leo typed out his response.

_Fitz (6:33 p.m.): I'll see you tomorrow night, then. :) _

It was amazing how a mere ":)" could cover up piles and piles of nervousness and anxiety.

_Simmons (6:35 p.m.): I can't wait! We're going to have so much fun! :D_

A mere minute later, she sent another message, devoid of all the happy faces.

_Simmons (6:36 p.m.): I worked on a few serum ideas when I got home. I'm emailing the documents to you now._

And just like that, they were back to their usual selves; just technobabble and biochemistry jargon, which they sent back and forth for hours afterward, almost forgetting entirely that they would be "partying" together this time tomorrow.

… . … . … . … . … . …

He didn't know what to wear. What do people wear to parties? Michael was dressed in a simple jeans and t-shirt combination for Ward's big bash, but that didn't seem appropriate for a party with _Jemma Simmons_. She was always so pretty and collected and put together; he felt underdressed around her on a normal day. He didn't want to feel that way at her _party_.

"Mum!" he shouted from his room as he dug through his closet. It was 6:30, and he needed to be at Jemma's in half an hour. Needless to say, he was on the verge of panicking. Beth Fitz appeared in his doorway a moment later, a small smile pulling at her lips at the sight of her frazzled, freshly showered son. It was nice to see him getting ready to go out somewhere; for the past seventeen years, Leo had spent nearly every Saturday night in this bedroom, either playing by himself when he was young or pouring over invention ideas as he got older and found an interest in engineering. She had never seen him cleaned up and nervous, worrying over impressing a _girl_.

"Is that cologne I smell?" she asked as she got closer, and he blushed brilliantly.

"_Mum,_" he complained, and she laughed, smiling as she sat in his desk chair.

"Alright, alright. Tell me what the trouble is."

"I don't know what to _wear,_" he supplied with exasperation, gesturing to his closet. "Michael's just wearing normal bloke clothes to Grant Ward's party, but Jemma's posh and nice and proper, and I don't wanna wear the wrong thing, but I don't wanna dress up too much an' look like a bloody idiot-"

"Relax, sweetheart," Beth supplied, standing and placing her hands on her son's forearms, giving them a calming squeeze. Beth Fitz was a sweet lady, who cared deeply for her children and would do anything to see them happy. She was short and plump, with dark brown hair that Emma had inherited, while both Leo and Michael had gotten their father's sandy brown curls. But Leo got his mother's eyes, a trait that neither Michael nor Emma got, and right now they were filled with panic. He wanted Jemma to like him. He wanted to be her friend. He didn't want to look like a fool.

"I wanna be her friend, Mum," he confessed, his gaze helpless, "But I don' know what to do-"

"Meet the expectations halfway," she told him gently, releasing him to walk over to his closet, and Leo frowned with confusion, turning to watch her as she searched through his clothes. "If you say she's posh, but you don't want to be too posh but you also don't wanna be not posh enough, then you meet it all in the middle."

"How do I-" he started to ask, blinking when she passed him a pair of jeans, a white button-down shirt, and a black tie that he'd only ever wore for award ceremonies and funerals.

"You meet the expectations halfway," she repeated with a smile, leaving her son to get dressed, and Leo looked down at the outfit he'd been given, cracking a small smile. His mother really was brilliant.

… . … . … . … . … . …

A half hour later, his father was dropping him off at the address Jemma had texted him. Her house was located in a gated community; posh, like Michael had said. Her house itself was fantastical. One of the many elaborate mansions in a line of elaborate mansions on the street, and Leo found himself gulping. Just looking at the place, he suddenly felt _very_ underdressed. Maybe his mother hadn't been right after all.

"Have fun, m'boy," his father told him, ruffling his hair, and Leo made a sound of complaint, quickly getting out of the car.

"I'll be back at 11:30," his father announced when Leo all but jumped from the car, nodding. "Behave yerself. Don't do anything yer brother wouldn't do."

Rolling his eyes as his father drove away with a laugh, Leo shook his head. That hadn't been a preachy comment about his older brother being better than him; it had been his father pushing him to genuinely have a good time for once. God knows Michael did plenty of that.

Taking a breath, Leo made his way up the walkway, clearing his throat before ringing the doorbell on the front porch. He was in a right nervous state as he waited for Jemma to open the door, terrified that this whole endeavor was going to end badly. But, when she opened up the door, he nearly laughed with relief.

He shouldn't have been so concerned with looking posh, because Jemma Simmons was currently standing in front of him in a set of Ravenclaw robes, clearly dressed for the _Potter_ marathon she had promised him- and not at all what he'd been freaking out about last night.

"You're right on time! Come on, the popcorn's nearly ready."

Not giving him a chance to even say "hello", Jemma grabbed Leo's hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door once he was in. The floor to the entryway- which was more like an entry hall, really- was black and white marble and polished so precisely that he was almost wary to walk on it. But Jemma didn't seem to be too concerned with it, so he let her pull him up the large, carpeted staircase to the second floor, a grin pulling at his lips when he could smell the popcorn from wherever it was cooking.

"Where are your robes, then?" she tutted playfully, and he blinked.

"I… uh… left 'em at home."

"Oh, that won't do," she stated, shaking her head, and he followed along behind her as they turned a corner and she pulled him down the hall, opening the door to what appeared to be her bedroom. "What house are you?"

Blinking, hesitantly walking into the warm, carpeted room behind her, Leo cleared his throat as he looked around. "Uh… Gryffindor?"

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, promptly diving into her walk-in closet, giving Leo a genuine chance to examine her bedroom. Aside from its size and extravagant furnishings, it wasn't all that different from his. On the wall behind the large, four-poster bed was a _Doctor Who_ poster, and the other walls were littered with posters of things such as _Sherlock_ and, of course, _Harry Potter_, along with several awards she had been presented with for her academic success, all which were in frames. There were awards for things such as the Sheffield Primary School Spelling Bee, multiple science fairs, both regional and national, and a few degrees from the online courses she had spoken of taking. Jemma Simmons was even more shockingly brilliant than he had given her credit for.

"Here you go! Gryffindor robes."

Jumping when Jemma emerged from her closet with a set of house robes and a red and gold tie, Leo turned to face her with a timid smile.

"You don't mind me wearing them?" he questioned, and she shook her head, handing them to him.

"Not at all. What's a marathon without a little fun?"

He couldn't argue with her logic. Although, when she handed the robe and tie to him, he found himself presented with a problem.

His mother had done up his tie for him before he came here. There was no way he could switch from the plain black one to the Gryffindor one she was letting him borrow without letting that detail slip, and that would be humiliating.

"I… uh… do I really need the tie?" he asked, and she furrowed her brow.

"Well, I suppose not, but it completes the look… Plus, it will complement the robes more than the one you're wearing now would. Not that it looks bad!" she quickly corrected herself not wanting to insult him.

"Um… well, I…" Oh, bloody hell. There was no way to really get out of this, was there? His cheeks turning nearly as red as the tie in his hands, he stared at his feet as he gave her an explanation. "I can't tie a tie."

Jemma's brow furrowed further at that, genuinely confused. "Then how did you tie the one you're wearing?"

"I didn't," he confessed, blushing further, "M' mum did it for me."

Cracking a tiny smile at his honesty, Jemma closed the distance between them, helping him unknot the one he was currently wearing. "Well, let me lend you a hand, then."

Hold on, she wasn't making fun of him? She didn't think he was ridiculous because he was seventeen years old and his mum still had to knot his tie for him? That didn't seem right.

"How come yer not laughing?" he questioned, and she gave him a confused look as she set his regular tie aside on her bed, going about tying the Gryffindor one around his neck.

"Why would I laugh? There's no shame in not knowing how to knot a tie. My own father still has to get Mum to help him sometimes."

His eyes widening a little, Leo watched as she did up the tie carefully around his neck. She really wasn't going to tease him for it. She was just helping him, like she'd said she would.

"I… oh," was all he could manage, and she offered him a small smile when she finished doing up the tie.

"I'm not one of them, Leo," she assured him, her tone gentle, and he felt his cheeks turn pink.

"I never said you were," he assured her quickly in response, and she shook her head as she held the robes open for him to put his arms through.

"I know you didn't. But I also know you're not used to people being nice to you. So you'd better get used to it, because I intend to be _very_ nice."

Her smile widening once he had the robes on, she grabbed his hand again and pulled him out of her room and back down the hall, in the direction of the popcorn smell. Unsure of how to respond to her statement, once again left speechless by the girl dragging him along, he simply followed her wherever she intended to take him. Thus, he found himself in a kitchenette with a popcorn machine off to the side of a large media room with Jemma Simmons asking what his favourite flavour of popcorn was while listing the various ones they had.

"…and we've got dill pickle, caramel, cheddar, cotton-candy-"

"Cotton-candy flavoured popcorn?" Leo asked apprehensively, and Jemma grinned.

"It's Mum's favourite. I'm quite partial to the caramel, myself."

Cracking a tiny smile, Leo looked over the dozens of flavours, pointing to one that caught his eye. "Salty Banana Split."

"Oooh!" she said excitedly, reaching for a packet of the one he chose. "I haven't tried that one yet." With that, she poured it into the machine and pressed a button, and Leo made an appreciative sound as the scent of bananas and chocolate mingled with that of the popcorn.

"Bloody hell, that smells delicious…"

Giggling at his reaction, Jemma grinned.

"We'll have to see if it tastes as good as it smells."

… . … . … . … . …

The two of them realized halfway through their third batch of banana split popcorn and _The Philosopher's Stone_ that a 7:00-11:00 party wasn't exactly ideal for a movie "marathon"; at least not when it came to the three hour + _Harry Potter_ films.

"We need to do something party-ish," Jemma announced, pausing the film, and Leo glanced over at her from his seat, speaking through a mouthful of the sugary, salty popcorn.

"Like wha'?"

Grinning, she giggled a bit as his display, getting to her feet and taking the large bowl of popcorn from his lap, setting it aside and taking his hand, pulling him up so he would stand, too. Leo looked longingly at the popcorn when she took it from his grasp, and she shook her head, smirking as she pulled him out of the media room, grabbing a remote as they went.

"What're you doin'?" he questioned, swallowing his mouthful as he let her pull him along, and she grinned as she fiddled with a few buttons on the remote once they were out in the hall. He nearly jumped out of his skin when "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls began to blare throughout the house, evidently thanks to the sound system she had mentioned, and she laughed, pulling him with her further down the hall, now with a bounce in her step.

"We're going to _dance!_ We can't let Skye have all the fun, can we?"

Leo looked horrified at her suggestion.

"But I can't dance!" he squeaked, and she laughed again, releasing his hand with a shrug.

"Neither can I! Doesn't mean we can't do it! God knows no one else at school can."

Leo watched as Jemma twirled down the hall, and he followed her when she rounded the corner, breaking into a sprint when she vanished from sight. He found her just as she came out of her bedroom with a hairbrush in her hand, and he snorted with laughter when she leaned dramatically against her doorway, singing into the brush as if it were a microphone.

"_If you want my future, forget my past. If you wanna get with me, better make it fast. Now don't go wasting my precious time. Get your act together, we could be just fine_."

His snort turned to a genuine laugh when she pushed off of the doorframe and started bopping down the hallway, singing loudly all the while, beckoning for him to follow in suit, and he shook his head, hesitating. He would look _ridiculous_ if he tried to dance with Jemma- and in bloody Hogwarts robes, no less! She was at least pretty while acting silly, with her hair pulled back in a messy knot and her honey coloured eyes twinkling with mirth, but he'd just look… foolish.

Rolling her eyes at his refusal to have a little fun with her, Jemma continued to sing on her own, bopping and twirling all the way down the hallway to the staircase as she sang.

"_I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want. So tell me what you want, what you really really want! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigga zig ahhh…_"

Following after her, even if he refused to dance, Leo's eyes widened with something akin to horror when Jemma bounced up and slid down the staircase railing, listening to her squeal with giddy happiness. He reached the edge of the carpeted staircase just as she reached the bottom, his gaze flitting between her and the railing itself. Crossing her arms at the bottom, Jemma smirked up at him, tapping her foot as if with impatience.

"You know you want to do it."

His gaze falling on her, Leo found himself taking a deep breath as the music blared around them both. He'd been careful and cautious and practical for his entire life- maybe it was about time he started living a little. A grin pulling as his lips, he hopped up onto the railing and let himself slide down, to which Jemma cheered and clapped, bouncing a little when he reached the bottom, laughing when he did a twirl when he reached the slippery floor for emphasis. She felt elated at his flushed, bright expression, kicking off her shoes and motioning for him to do the same. The one excellent thing about having professionally polished floors was that they were exceptionally fun to slide on, and she wanted Leopold Fitz to try having a bit of fun. It seemed like he never really did.

Following her lead, he kicked off his own and slid around in his sock feet on the slippery floor as if skating, making a noise of enjoyment nearly as giddy as Jemma's had been. He hadn't had this much fun in… well, ever. Feeling rather inspired, he smirked when he caught sight of the coatrack by the door, sliding over and tossing the coats onto the floor. Jemma watched with a curious grin, bursting into laughter when he slid across the entryway floor, dragging the coatrack along with him as if it were a microphone stand, singing obnoxiously loud into the top of it as he slid.

"Soooo here's your story from A to Z; you wanna get with me you'd better listen carefully. We've got Em in the place who likes it in your face. We got G like MC who likes it on, and easy V, who doesn't come for free, she's a real lady, and as for me you'll see, ha, you'll see!"

Nearly toppling over with laughter when Leo dropped the coatrack and plopped on his knees, Jemma fell backward and sat on the stairs as she snorted and giggled and nearly cried with amusement, watching as he spun around on his bottom, ending up posing dramatically on his side as if he wanted Jack to paint him like one of his French girls.

"_Slam your body down and wind it all around. Slam your body down and wind it all around!_"

"Oh… my… God…!" Jemma managed between gasps for air and laughter, and Leo laughed in return, grinning over at her as he rose to his feet, rather out of breath as he slid over to the stairs, pulling her up to her feet.

"Come on, then! Big finish!"

"No, no, I can't…!" she tried, still laughing with a snort here and there as he pulled her a long, and he shook his head.

"Oh, no, no, no; you got me into this, you're finishing it!"

Barely able to breath, she made herself twirl around with him and sing between gasps and giggles, shaking her head as their house robes flared out around them.

"_If you wanna be my lover, you've gotta get with my friends!_"

"_Gotta get with my frieeeeeeeends!_"

He was even insisting on doing terrible, dramatic, girly harmonies, and Jemma was certain she was going to bust a gut with laughter before the song was over.

"_Make it last forever! Friendship never ennnnnds! If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give-_"

"_You've got to givvvveee!_"

"_Taking is too easy, but that's the way it issss!_"

"If you wanna be my lover-"

She had to cover her face when he dropped himself lower with every "_you've gotta slam!_" and felt tears genuinely rolling down her cheeks from laughing so much. This couldn't possibly be the same quiet, timid Leo Fitz she'd known since year nine; he was positively ridiculous, and she adored it!

"_Slam your body down and wind it all around!_" she sang in a high, raspy, laughter choked voice, and she squealed when he rose up and grabbed her hands, twirling them both in fast circles, so much that she felt herself growing dizzy.

"_Slam your body down and wind it all around!_"

"_Slam your body down and zigga zig ahh!_" she squealed, and he grinned, taking her hand once they stopped spinning, walking forward with dizzy, awkward steps, throwing their hands up in a final pose as they both breathlessly shouted, "_If you wanna be my lover!_"

Laughing as loudly as she possibly could in her breathless state, Jemma tossed her arms around Leo in a dramatic hug as the song ended and switched over to something by NSYNC, and anyone who may have looked in at the two of them would have likely thought they were drunk from how they were swaying with dizziness and laughing. In a way, they sort of were drunk; drunk on friendship, something so foreign to both of them that they could barely stand it. Grinning with a happiness he'd never before felt, Leo returned her hug as tightly as he could manage. This had to mean they were friends, didn't it? You don't just do a dramatic Spice Girls number with a person and not be friends after that. It simply wouldn't be logical.

"You're a hoot, Jemma Simmons," he finally managed when he caught a bit of his breath, and she grinned, pulling back to beam up at him.

"And you're hilarious! Who would have thought? You're always so _quiet_…"

Blushing, his smile became a bit more sober, and he blinked with surprise when he found Jemma hugging him again, somewhat fiercely this time.

"We have to do this again. Lots," she stated, giving him a squeeze, and Leo felt his heart splutter hopefully. "I can't believe I've known you for three years without really _knowing_ you."

Hugging her in return, Leo took a breath as he smiled, shaking his head. "I don't often break out into song and dance at school…"

Laughing again, Jemma grinned, poking his nose when she drew back enough that he could move. "I mean it. I want us to be friends… No. That's not right. We were already friends…" Shaking her head, her grin widened. "_Best_ friends. We'll be best mates!"

Hope shining in his eyes as he grinned, Leo found himself barely able to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Really? I mean, I'm nothing special-"

"Oh, shut up," she teased him, grinning. "Your projects are special, and so are you. I hereby declare you, Leopold Fitz, my best friend."

Grinning widely, he found himself bouncing in place. He couldn't really help it.

"And what does being your best friend entail, Jemma Simmons?"

"Eating lunch with me every day, for starters," she stated, waggling a finger at him, "And more parties for two, every Saturday from now on. Understood?"

"On one condition," he stated, crossing his arms over his chest with a grin, and she raised an eyebrow.

"And what would that be?"

"I, as your best friend, get unlimited access to your popcorn machine."

Grinning, another giggle escaping her, Jemma pulled him into another hug, holding him to her tightly. Popcorn seemed like an all too small price to pay for the best friend she'd always wanted.

"Deal."


End file.
